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Child Behavior (Expert Forum)
Why does my child grind his teeth when he gets excited?
Answered by
Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D. - Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Family Therapy, Crisis Intervention
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
This forum is for questions and support regarding child behavior issues such: Child Discipline (behavior management), Normal Child Development, Parent-Child Communications, Social Development
Doctor's Answer
by Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D., Apr 10, 2003 12:00AM
, Apr 10, 2003 12:00AM
The involuntary, unconscious and also excessive grinding of teeth, usually during sleep, is called bruxism. There is no single cause of bruxism; in fact, there is not much agreement on either the cause or effective treatment. On the nutritional side, some think that in some cases a deficiency of magnesium might play a role, but this is not by any means a universal opinion. The fact is that people can display bruxism for different reasons. It does make sense to seek an evaluation by a pediatric dentist, because bruxism can cause tooth damage or headaches or hearing loss, among other things. There may well be a herediatry basis to bruxism, but this also is not universally true.
Member Comments (2)
by momto2boys, Apr 09, 2003 12:00AM
AS an adult I grinded my teeth, and clenched really bad too...dentist made me wear a mouth gard for awhile and it cleared it all up. I would assume it's a stress thing. Or maybe he likes the feel of it? Could he be getting his 2 yr molars? Maybe it's time he sees a dentist, even though they say children don't need to go til they are 3. Oh well. I posted before the doc did...just imputing my thoughts! Good luck!
